What We Thought: Winter at the Door by Sarah Graves

Mystery Readers Book Club
November 2015

“Brrrrr. Winter at the door, indeed.” Carolyn Haley, New York Journal of Books

 

Author Sarah Graves introduced former Boston homicide cop Lizzie Snow in her first book set in the town of Bearkill in the Great North Woods of Maine. Readers thoroughly enjoyed the fast moving story liberally sprinkled with unexpected twists and turns as well as engaging characters. They had to keep reading to find out what happens next. Lizzie had her moments of naiveté but was forgiven due to her adjustment from life in urban Boston to a new home in the backwoods of Aroostook County. She had to learn to recognize cues of danger from Rascal, a black and tan hound needing a home after his master was murdered. Although police procedure is pretty much the same everywhere, allowances must be made while tramping through hip deep snow with Sherriff Cody Chevrier and civilians on the trail of a kidnapper and serial killer.  

Wintery Maine was the perfect setting for the story with a meth lab hidden deep in the woods and a determined killer camping out there with captives and keeping secrets of disturbing crimes. The dark and silent atmosphere added the perfect note of creepiness to the story. There was just enough romance involving a Maine State Cop and a top notch vet competing for Lizzie’s attention to relieve some of the tension, but not for long. 

Readers discussed the characters and their motives and how the culture of a community affects residents. There were some questions that were not answered by the conclusion of the book; what happened to Lizzies’s sister and her niece, will she find her niece, will there be a romance with Dylan the State Cop or Trey the vet or maybe someone else? Readers can’t wait for the next book in the series, The Girls She Left Behind to be released in 2016. 

Have you read Winter at the Door?  What did you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

What We Thought: Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy

Mystery Readers

October 14, 2015

Monkeewrench

P.J. Tracy

Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy

All readers enthusiastically endorsed Monkeewrench. They agreed that the story was a real page turner and a great first book in a series by the mother- daughter writing team P.J. and Traci Lambrecht. Readers commented that the numerous characters were all essential to the story. It was worth their while to read through the extensive backgrounds to understand how the characters fit into the storyline. Readers said that the detailed descriptions increased their emotional connection to the characters and encouraged them to keep on reading to the shocking conclusion which no one saw coming. 

Readers decided that the graphic and ingenious details of the murders were kept to a minimum so that the characters were the primary focus of the storyline. The authors crafted a plot that had plenty of twists and turns to make people think about the next heart stopping event. They wove the characters into the plot and a satisfying read for everyone. The writing was so well done that no one had anything to criticize. They said that all of the violence was tucked safely inside a book so they didn’t have to worry about reality. Everyone said that they would read more books by the authors and looked forward to the next title in the series, Live Bait in the hope that some of the characters would have continued storylines.   

In this February 2, 2007 interview by Therese Walsh P.J. Tracy talks about her characters.

Question: How do you create your characters? Do any of the characters feel like they “belong” to one of you over the other? Who are your favorites? 

TL: They’re all a slapped-together mess of reality, imagination, and observation. We both have

always paid very close attention to the way people behave, and often the odd gesture or comment of a stranger sends our minds spooling off in all different directions. But generally, we’d like to know in real life or have over for a dinner party. And both our footprints are all on all of the players—they are all truly collaborative figments of our collective imagination. And I don’t think either of us could pick a favorite—that would be like singling out a favorite child.

This Month's Selection: Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy

What We Thought: Notorious by Allison Brennan

Mystery Readers

September 9, 2015

Notorious

by Allison Brennan

“Notorious weaves through two murders and a suicide investigation. It has all the twists and turns that you look for in a crime/thriller novel.” -- Goodreads, Britney

The first book features investigative reporter Maxine "Max" Revere and her cable television show about solving cold cases. She uses unorthodox methods in her determined search for truth and justice for the victim and his/her family and friends. She doesn’t sensationalize crimes, but presents them in a straightforward manner. She is persistent and follows her instincts despite obstacles. Readers admired her standards, treating everyone the same. If someone deserved her respect, she gave it to them. If someone was nasty, she gave it right back in kind.

Book club members engaged in a spirited discussion of the characters and their motives. This discussion was very serious with everyone participating. Readers focused on Max Revere’s motivation for her chosen career. It was decided that the mystery of her own wealthy family background and direct experiences with crime influenced her personality and determination. She stayed away from her hometown and family members and only interacted with them when absolutely necessary. She had better relationships with her employees and certain law enforcement officers, but occasionally there were problems as well. Everything was black or white with no gray areas for her and she set her own boundaries.

The central issue with Max is the mystery of her mother and abandonment. Readers expected that more will be revealed in subsequent books. (Notorious is followed by Compulsion.)

Log in to NoveList with your Holmes Public Library card number to see a list of read-alike suggestions if you like the Max Revere series by Allison Brennan. Or come in to the library and ask us for the list!

Please add to the discussion in the comments below!

This Month's Selection: Notorious by Allison Brennan

Notorious

by Allison Brennan

Wed., Sept. 9

2 p.m.  

New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan introduces an irrepressible, unforgettable, and notorious new heroine in her latest pulse-pounding thriller.

Maxine Revere has dedicated her life to investigating murders that the police have long since given up any hope of solving. A nationally renowned, tough-as-nails investigative reporter with her own TV show, Max tackles cold cases from across the country and every walk of life.

But the one unsolved murder that still haunts her is a case from her own past.

First in the Max Revere series.

Summer Pot Luck Selection: The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

All three of the Holmes Public Library book clubs will come together in one big group on Tuesday, August 18, at 6 p.m. to share a pot luck supper and talk about The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, a fun summer read. Hope you can make it!

Holmes Mystery Readers Book Club on Vacation

The Holmes Mystery Readers will not meet in July and August. We hope you will all come for the Combined Book Club Potluck on Tuesday, August 18, at 6 p.m. when all the library book clubs will come together to share some delicious food and discuss The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz.

About The Spellman Files

Isabel Spellman, the uncompromising—okay, obstinate— twenty-eight year-old San Francisco private eye in Lisa Lutz's riotous debut novel, THE SPELLMAN FILES has her share of problems. And those problems all happen to be named Spellman. Her parents, Albert and Olivia, co-owners of Spellman Investigations, think nothing of placing their daughter under 24-hour surveillance simply to find out if she has a new boyfriend. David, her perfect older brother, who escaped the family business by becoming a lawyer, is hypercritical of just about everything Isabel says, wears, or does. Fourteen-year-old sister Rae lives on sugared snacks, considers recreation surveillance her favorite hobby, and believes that life is one endless opportunity for intra-familial blackmail. And good-natured Uncle Ray, a former cop and health food nut, now embraces gambling and drinking; and when he's not in battle with his niece Rae over the whereabouts of his favorite shirt, must be rescued from "lost weekends."

Welcome to Izzy Spellman's off-kilter world. Equal parts Sam Spade and Bridget Jones, she's a damn good investigator—if only her dysfunctional family would back off and let her do her thing. Izzy's cynical—okay, wise—enough to realize that a primrose-covered cottage with a white picket fence is not in her future. That's okay with her. Ever the jaded P.I., she catalogs her ex-boyfriends with calculated brevity, reducing her romantic misjudgments to curt summaries of name, age, occupation, hobbies, duration, and last words. No sooner has she met a new man that she begins composing his exit profile.